Alto Sax

What makes Alto Sax interesting is how specific its strengths are. It performs noticeably better on normal ground than on anything softer or firmer—it has won 3 of its 14 races on those conditions, nearly a 21 per cent win rate. Over distances between seven furlongs and a mile, the record stands at 1 win from 6 races, solid enough to suggest the horse knows what it is doing at that trip. Trainer Peter Fahey, who runs his yard from Monasterevín in County Kildare, has the horse active and racing regularly—it ran just a day ago—and the yard has been in good form this season with 14 winners already sent out.

The recent picture is less rosy. Alto Sax has not won in its last six races, with recent finishes of tenth, eleventh, sixth, second, ninth, and fifth. That second-place finish suggests the horse is not entirely out of form, but it is a stretch between victories. The pairing with Leigh Roche, its most frequent rider, has not yielded a win yet from five rides together, though small sample sizes can be misleading. Still, the horse remains active and in work, and if it can find another race on normal ground at a suitable distance—ideally back at Fairyhouse, where it has proven it belongs—there is no reason to rule out another win.